NASSR VS Al Faisaly

Al Motawaa rescues Al Nassr

Friday, 25 February 2011 12:23
Riyadh: Kuwait star Bader Al Motawaa scored deep into second-half stoppage time to give Al Nassr a 3-2 win in their Saudi Professional League clash with Al Faisaly on Thursday in the Riyadh giants final domestic fixture before their 2011 ACL Group B opener against Pakhtakor.

Al Motawaa (pictured), who reached the semi-finals of the 2006 AFC Champions League and the final of last year’s AFC Cup with Al Qadsia, struck six minutes into additional time to give Al Nassr the victory and a timely boost ahead of their tough trip to Tashkent.

Ibrahim Madkhali put Al Faisaly ahead in the 12th minute only for Argentine midfielder Victor Figueroa levelled the match two minutes later.

A 38th minute Ageel Balgath own goal handed Al Nassr the initiative but the visitors were back on level terms seven minutes after the interval and again it was Madkhali on target.

The match looked to be ending all-square until Al Motawaa’s late strike sealed Al Nassr’s eighth win of the season, putting them third in the Saudi league standings behind fellow ACL 2011 qualifiers Al Ittihad and leaders Al Hilal.

Al Nassr’s attention now turns to their AFC Champions League debut on Tuesday when the 1998 Asian Cup Winners’ Cup champions take on Uzbek giants Pakhtakor, the only team to have taken part in every edition of the ACL since the tournament’s inception in the 2002/03 season.